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Scaling home upgrades through CSAs with Scope Zero, Ep #85

Scaling home upgrades through CSAs with Scope Zero, Ep #85

FromInvested In Climate


Scaling home upgrades through CSAs with Scope Zero, Ep #85

FromInvested In Climate

ratings:
Length:
26 minutes
Released:
Mar 26, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

We know that motivating homeowners to invest in energy efficiency retrofits and home upgrades is hard. Energy efficiency might not sound glamorous, but across the US, retrofits can actually cut our residential energy usage in half. That’s why when I met Scope Zero CEO Lizzy Kolar, I was excited to learn about her company’s novel way of motivating home upgrades. What Lizzy and her co-founder realized is that our homes are now workplaces.  And, with employers having to account for emissions for remote workers, they now have an incentive to help homeowners invest in upgrades. Enter the Carbon Savings Account (CSA). Modeled after FSAs and HSAs, the CSA can scale quickly and help millions of homeowners across the US to begin investing in upgrades they’ve been putiing off. In this episode, we hear about Lizzy’s background, the founding story of Scope Zero, the problems they’re trying to solve, the best home upgrade investments, how the home upgrade ecosystem has been evolving, and much more. This is a fast and to-the-point episode. Hope you enjoy it.In today’s episode, we cover:[03:02] Lizzy’s background, what sparked her interest in climate & founding Scope Zero[05:50] Key needs that Scope Zero is addressing[07:17] The HSA model & how it works[08:24] How the HSA model translates to climate action[09:20] How someone might use the money they put in a Scope Zero account[10:15] What holds homeowners back from making investments[11:40] Evidence that consumers will invest in CSAs[12:23] The benefits of government incentives - Inflation Reduction Act[12:53] What home upgrades should be prioritized[14:43] The benefits of a Scope Zero CSA for employers[16:34] ROI for employers[17:53] CSAs in practice & the response[18:27] How far along is Scope Zero & the growth plan[19:44] Scope Zero’s total addressable market & opportunity[20:27] Quantifying impact in terms of emissions reduced & environmental benefits[21:06] Tracking the impact of CSAs using dashboards & data[21:44] Customers’ access to a partner vendor network[22:14] How the ecosystem surrounding home upgrades is evolving[23:08] How Scope Zero is financed & raising funding[23:47] Opportunities for aligning interests & motivating changeResources MentionedScope ZeroTomKat Center for Sustainable Energy - StanfordCaltech Rocket FundCollaborative FundConnect with Lizzy KolarConnect with Lizzy on LinkedInConnect with Jason RissmanOn LinkedInOn TwitterKeep up with Invested In ClimateSign up for our NewsletterLinkedIn
Released:
Mar 26, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (89)

Invested in Climate hosts conversations with leading thinkers to help our listeners do more to address the climate crisis through their Work, Investments, Learning, Lifestyle and Activism. People everywhere, communities, governments and all sectors of the economy are mobilizing to address climate change. The scale of this global action is unprecedented. Never before have so many people dedicated so much energy, creativity and capital to addressing a shared, global threat. Will it be enough? What else is needed? And, most importantly, what can you do? We all have a part to play, so let’s go.